On To Glory
The End is Nigh • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Between Beasts and Glory
Between Beasts and Glory
We started this series for a simple purpose: to look at Revelation through the lens of someone seeking to feel the impact of these prophecies in their daily walk with Christ.
We started by contextualizing how the end-times is taught in scripture, for purpose not just some “Christian hobby interest”.
We continued on to the lessons for the churches and how those lessons are relevant to us today.
We then looked at the seven seals on the scroll of judgment and the relevance of God’s completeness He desires in Creation and the full qualifications He holds to redeem our souls.
We next talked about the antichrist and noted how there are, in fact, antichrists even amongst us now and how that moves us to be observant and cautious.
Last week we looked at the purpose of Hell and challenged the premise of the question “why would God send anyone to Hell?”.
Some items we see following our prior lessons
Chapter 11 - Two witnesses martyred by the Beast and later resurrected.
Chapter 14 - The redeeming of the 144,000 faithful.
Chapters 15-16 - The bowls of judgment.
Chapter 17 - Allegory explained (A woman who rests on the dragon, the appearance of the beast and fulfillment of Christ’s Prophecy).
Culmination —> Downfall of “man-made society”
Babylon appears multiple times as a euphemism for “kingdoms of men”.
Babylon is judgment and oppression —> Sacked Jerusalem and enslaved the Jews
Babylon is also secularism —> Countless stories like “Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego” and “Daniel in the Lion’s Den”
Here, those ideas are brought to their final destruction...
21 Then a mighty angel picked up a stone like a large millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, In this way, Babylon the great city will be thrown down violently and never be found again. 22 The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters will never be heard in you again; no craftsman of any trade will ever be found in you again; the sound of a mill will never be heard in you again; 23 the light of a lamp will never shine in you again; and the voice of a groom and bride will never be heard in you again. All this will happen because your merchants were the nobility of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery. 24 In her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all those slaughtered on the earth.
DIFFICULT NOT TO SEE THE PARALLEL TO NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S DREAM...
Observed a statue composed and representing mighty empires, but a single stone fell down and destroyed all of the layers until...
44 “In the days of those kings, the God of the heavens will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not be left to another people. It will crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself endure forever. 45 You saw a stone break off from the mountain without a hand touching it, and it crushed the iron, bronze, fired clay, silver, and gold. The great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is certain, and its interpretation reliable.”
Through the downfall of Babylon, we are seeing the final destruction of mankind’s great works which have tried to rival God’s authority throughout the entire Bible. Remember that it is Babylon which was the origination of man attempting to elevate himself above where he should be...
1 The whole earth had the same language and vocabulary. 2 As people migrated from the east, they found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make oven-fired bricks.” (They used brick for stone and asphalt for mortar.) 4 And they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky. Let’s make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered throughout the earth.”
7 Come, let’s go down there and confuse their language so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So from there the Lord scattered them throughout the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 Therefore it is called Babylon, for there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the Lord scattered them throughout the earth.
Revelation 18 warns us of the temporary nature of our own creations; that anything we invest in worldly institutions is bound for decay, but God’s kingdom is everlasting.
Recalling that Babylon is often a euphemism for man-made society in-general, read Revelation 18:21-24. What does this tell you about the futility of amassing wealth, building empires, or dedicating your life to attaining worldly glory?
Think about all of the things you “dedicate your life to”. How many of those things are worldly vs spiritual in some way. When does investment in a worldly pursuit become a “bad thing”… or at the very least a “useless thing”?
The Omega
The Omega
What follows are several chapters displaying the full glory of God’s victory over death and restoration of Creation.
FIRST: We see celebration...
1 After this I heard something like the loud voice of a vast multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God,
4 Then the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who is seated on the throne, saying, Amen! Hallelujah!
5 A voice came from the throne, saying, Praise our God, all his servants, and the ones who fear him, both small and great!
6 Then I heard something like the voice of a vast multitude, like the sound of cascading waters, and like the rumbling of loud thunder, saying, Hallelujah, because our Lord God, the Almighty, reigns!
Notice the trend?!?! “Hallelujah” is used.
The ONLY TIME in the New Testament!
Referenced in the Hallel of Psalms 113-118 which is associated with Passover <— REDEMPTION!
NEXT: We see final victory
Bounding of Satan (Rev 20:1-3).
Resurrection of the martyred (Rev 20:4-6).
Satan attempts 1 final rebellion (mirroring how the “dragon” was kicked out of heaven) (Rev 20:7-10).
The faithful are resurrected (Rev 20:11-15).
FINALLY: GLORY!
God re-establishes the New Jerusalem
2 I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. 3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God.
Recalls to Ruth 1:16
16 But Ruth replied: Don’t plead with me to abandon you or to return and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.
Just as Ruth is an important story in the Jewish tradition of someone’s devotion to joining with God, this proclaims God’s faithfulness to rejoin with His Creation.
This is reinforced in the verses following which describe the appearance of the New Jerusalem and how the radiance of God permeates everywhere.
22 I did not see a temple in it, because the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
He is the Alpha and Omega
Final pronouncement of Christ
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. 14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates.
Read Revelation 21:2-3 and Ruth 1:16 and note the similar language being used. Just as Ruth’s story is used as a description for man’s uncompromising faithfulness to God, this passage in Revelation shows God’s faithfulness to His Creation.
1) What does it mean for God to be “faithful” to us? Do we need God’s faith?
2) How does God restoring His Creation amplify His glory?
3) How does understanding the culmination of all Revelation being the restoration and reunification of His children drive us and help us contextualize all the lessons and teachings Christ gives us elsewhere? How does it shift the narrative away from “what you can do for God” and towards “look at what God would do for us”?
The Conclusion of It All
The Conclusion of It All
Revelation serves a very practical purpose: to communicate to us the extent of God’s purpose and perfect planning.
Revelation gives us an anchor in rough times that there is purpose and intent to everything we see around us.
Nothing is by accident. All things work out for “good” with “good” being purposefulness.
It is a Good News story and the glorious eternity we all march towards. In the meantime, it parallels the perfection of Himself and glory God achieves through redemption of our own hearts.
Thinking of these direct applications and how this great and glorious God is the same that desires to dwell in you, I end you with these verses for Revelation 21...
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away. 5 Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.” 6 Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give to the thirsty from the spring of the water of life. 7 The one who conquers will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be my son.
If you aren’t living for this God, then what else could you possibly be living for?
